My Greek SEAL (13 page)

The waves rise like ominous towers as they approach the shore. Even from a distance, the roaring waves look terrifying. Two small boats caught in the current drift toward shore and then disappear as the first wave crushes the shore at an angle to the shoreline. Once the first wave advances, water flows fast over the land below us, carrying trees, chunks of ramshackle homes and other debris. They appear to my right and then float by until they disappear to the left of me where the shoreline dips inward. Fearful shouts of people losing the battle with the wave sounds feeble over the roar of water, which has transformed from brilliant blue to murky grey.

“It’s worse than I expected,” said Eros.

I turned toward him, “You seem to know a lot about tidal waves. Have you seen them before?”

“I have seen the kind of ruin that can happen. Lefkada is close to a tectonic plate boundary they call the Hellenic trench, so there are frequent earthquakes here and throughout Greece and the islands. Most of the Ionian Islands have suffered from the rage of earthquakes and sometimes tidal waves follow them whenever the shift of the earth happens under the sea.”

“How scary.” The turgid water continues to gush over the shoreline like a fast-moving river, drowning everything in its path.

“Oh, no.”

“What is it?”

He points out over the debris-riddled water. “Look there. That’s one of the inflatable boats.”

I think about Libby, who was out escorting her group of swimmers when all this started. A little over an hour ago, I saw her sitting in the boat with a big smile on her face, wearing her goofy heart-shaped, red-rimmed sunglasses. If she perished, all of the swimmers with her must have fared even worse. My heart lurches when I think of Maryann and Randy. I hate to think of such nice people fighting for their lives and now dead with their lungs filled with water and their eyes wide open. My mind fights off this image, clinging to the hope that they’re still alive. “Maybe Libby abandoned the boat.”

“This is what I am hoping. It is possible that everyone else is onboard the
Ionian Goddess
and that Dmitri maneuvered her out into deep water where it’s safe from the tidal wave.”

“God, I hope so.” Once again, I flash back to earlier in the day. Everyone on the boat was so happy and excited about the swims. We were all talking and laughing and getting to know each other. It was just another day of vacation. Until the ground started shaking and rocks started falling on my head.

Eros shakes his head and grim lines appear on his forehead and around his mouth. “We can’t help anyone while the water is moving this fast. Let’s sit down and catch our breaths. We need to conserve our energy for what is to come.”

It feels worse than wrong to sit down when people are in that water fighting for their lives. I’m tempted to rush down the hill and try to do something useful even though I’d only get myself killed. “Okay.” I drop onto the limestone ledge, dangle my feet over the edge and release a long sigh.

Eros sits beside me and gives me a pointed look. “I see the distress on your face. I know you want to go down there and do something. I would like to do that, too. But down there, both of us would be washed away right along with the people we were trying to rescue. There are times when lives can’t be saved.”

“I know. It just sucks.” I pause to look at him for a moment. “I take it you’ve been faced with some hard choices before?”

He frowns and rests his chin on one hand. His gaze seems lost in the distance. “Yes, Maya, I have.”

“Can you tell me what happened?”

His lips press together and the dimples around his mouth deepen. He gazes at me briefly and then looks off into the distance again. “Two years ago, I was deployed on a mission that turned out to be my last. Terrorists had seized a luxury cruise ship in the Mediterranean.”

“I vaguely remember hearing about terrorists taking over a ship and people being shot by the terrorists, but there wasn’t much information on the news about it.”

“A lot about that mission and its outcome were kept secret for many reasons.”

“That seems to happen a lot. Does that mean you can’t tell me about it?”

“It is far enough in the past, I think it is safe to tell you about it. But please do not sell this story to the National Enquirer.”

I smile and reassure him he has nothing to worry about.

“The terrorists planned to execute every one of the passengers if a hefty ransom weren’t paid. There were people from the U.S., Canada and several European Union countries on board the ship, including some American diplomats and the Greek president and his wife. A team of us in Underwater Demolition Command collaborated with an American SEAL team on this operation.” Eros pauses for a moment. When he resumes speaking, his voice sounds strained and unfamiliar. “We were told during the pre-mission briefing that getting the high profile people out was our top priority. The regular people onboard that ship could be saved if time allowed, but should be considered expendable.”

I’ve read enough headlines over the years to know that people in the military face unthinkable situations, but hearing this story up close is new to me. “That’s terrible.”

“It’s the reality of military operations. Any time I was deployed, I was willing to sacrifice my life to accomplish our mission. All of the men I served with shared this commitment. Every time we went out on a mission, we knew there was a possibility we would never return.”

“I can’t imagine that. Were you ever afraid?”

“Not really. During our BUD/S training, I learned how to balance that adrenaline rush of excitement that rages in the moment of danger with caution. Too much excitement makes you foolish and too much fear can paralyze you.”

“That makes sense.”

“Like many of our missions, this one started in the dead of night. Everything was going according to plan. The hardest part of the mission was determining where the key people we needed to rescue were located. That had only vaguely been determined from aerial surveillance since the passengers were rarely allowed on balconies or on deck.

“Once we boarded the ship, we learned that some of the rooms were more heavily guarded. We made the assumption that those rooms held the people we had been sent to extract. The guards had been taken out and the key people were in our custody when our mission was discovered. We were still inside the cabin area when one of the terrorists released a toxic gas called sarin.”

“Oh, no, that’s terrible.”

“It was awful. We weren’t anticipating a chemical attack, but I had a hazardous chemicals mask in my back pack as did my teammate, Nikolas. We used our masks to get the Greek president and his wife safely outside and onto one of our inflatable boats. During our frantic run to the exit, we heard countless people gasping and crying out in agony. All this time, we were taking heavy fire. My SEAL teammate Nikolas collapsed before we made it outside. A rogue shot had punctured a hole in his gas mask and he’d taken another hit to the shoulder.

“We had lived in the same Athens neighborhood as kids and had known each other most of our lives. He was the one who encouraged me to join the Hellenic Navy. It hurt like hell having to leave him, but I had no choice. The first lady begged me to help him, but I had to follow orders. I had been sent there to fulfill a mission, to ensure the Greek President was taken to safety. In the end, I fulfilled my mission, but Nikolas and twenty other people on board the boat died, either from gun wounds or succumbing to the sarin gas. And the damage to my lungs was too extensive for me to continue working after that.”

I reach out and place a hand on Eros’ shoulder to comfort him. I hear the sadness in his voice and see it in his slumped posture. I know no words can erase the pain he’s suffered. And it’s hard for me to step into his shoes enough to even understand it. I’ve never even seen a dead body before or lost someone I loved. I can’t imagine how horrible it would be like to lose a friend I’d grown up with and loved my whole life. Watching his dear friend suffer and being forbidden to help him must have been the worst thing in the world. “I’m so sorry, Eros. That’s so awful.”

“It was a tragedy losing Nikolas and the others. The Americans extracted the four diplomats they set out to rescue and thirty other civilians managed to evacuate safely on lifeboats. We knew going in lives might be lost, but watching the news reports from my hospital bed and seeing photos of my dead friend made it hurt worse than I ever imagined. The military leaders kept the information about the chemical weapons and who was onboard a secret. They were concerned that any mention of chemical weapons might cripple the cruise vacation industry.”

“Yes, I imagine it would. I’m sorry you went through all that. It sounds so awful. But you fulfilled your mission, right? That must have been some consolation.”

“That’s what they said at the debriefing afterward. But I was in a fog during the whole thing. The well-practiced words from our superiors were never processed. I kept imagining how different the night could have gone. If we had anticipated the release of the toxic gas, if we hadn’t alarmed so many people, maybe everyone from the cruise ship could have been rescued and my friend could still be alive. I had nightmares about that night for months after that. So often, I heard Nikolas begging me to save him as he writhed in agony. It’s a horrible thing, watching someone die from a chemical attack. I wasn’t there when he finally died, but I saw the agony on his face and heard his terrible screams. The first lady was so distressed, she had to be sedated during the journey back to the mainland.”

“It sounds like you suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. Did you ever get treated for that?”

“That was recommended to me. But for many months I never accepted it. My career had suddenly ended, I had lost my friend and so I didn’t care about what happened after that.”

My job loss now feels so trivial compared to everything Eros has endured. “Oh, Eros, I’m so sorry. What did you do?”

“Instead of going for treatment, I drank many, many bottles of wine. My mother phoned me every day, but I never answered. When she finally appeared at my door, her eyes looking tired with worry, I was so ashamed. Not only had I worried her, I hadn’t showered for days or eaten much. When she burst into tears and shouted, ‘Where is my son?’ I knew I had to change. It took some time, but I managed to put my life back together again.”

I lean on Eros’ shoulder and stroke his back. “I know how hard it must have been for you to tell me this story, but I’m glad you shared this with me. I want to know you better.”

“I am glad I told you, even though you say there will be no future for us. This is the very first time talking about it made me feel better instead of worse. It caused me a very deep pain knowing people would never again see their mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, sisters, and brothers. And because my career ended that night, I never had a chance to go out on another mission, to save other lives for the ones that were lost.”

“You saved everyone you possibly could. I admire your bravery very much.”

“Your words help me put some perspective on what happened that night. It’s so much different hearing reassuring words from you instead of a psychologist who is paid to listen.”

“I’m glad talking helped. I’m always here for you if you want to talk.” Wow. Did I really just say that? When I might be leaving soon. Although, leaving soon might not even be possible even if it was what I wanted to do, which I’m not sure about right now. I don’t even know where we’ll sleep tonight let alone how we’ll ever get off this island.

The corners of Eros’ lips turn up in a smile.

The rush of water pouring over the coastline appears to have slowed. I point toward the water. “Look. It looks like it’s almost over.”

“Maybe it is. But we must wait thirty minutes to make sure another wave doesn’t come. Many times these tsunamis come in groups. If there are more aftershocks more trouble will be on the way.”

“What will we do later? We’ve got no place to sleep, no food.”

He turns toward me and leans in until our foreheads touch. He speaks in a soothing, masculine voice. “Don’t worry, Maya. I have been faced with many emergencies before. I know how to protect people. You will be safe with me, but the next few days could be difficult. I am going to need to have your trust. Can you give that to me?”

“Yes.” His confident words give me a surprising sense of reassurance. I’m no longer afraid. Eros seems to be a man who keeps his promises. And I can see in his eyes that keeping me safe matters to him. I have no reason to worry. I feel a rush of emotion deep in my belly. It’s much different than the out-of-control lust I feel often around him. No man’s ever much cared what became of me before. Yet Eros does care. Is it possible that this emotion I’m feeling is love? Or is it just the craziness of our situation of danger mixed with the heady attraction we feel for each other.

“That is very good to hear. While we are waiting to see about the tidal waves, I have something planned for you. Come with me.” Eros leaps to his feet and reaches for my hand. Before I have a chance to protest, he scoops me off my feet and carries me back to a place under the tree covered with falling pine needles. Gently, he lays me down on my back and kneels over me. That fiery look in his eyes is back and his delicious mouth is just inches away. I’m craving his kiss. As if he reads my mind, his mouth descends to meet mine.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

I lay beside Eros, breathing heavily, my body still sweaty from our exertions. I’m still trying to wrap my brain around what’s changed. The sex we just had was sizzling hot. If anything, it was even hotter than the first time. But still, it was different. I flash back to the moment where his lips and hands skimmed the length of my body, to the blissful moments where his tongue flicked over my pussy, sending cascading pleasure everywhere until I bucked and screamed.

Even though everything he did to me set me on fire, every touch of his hand and lips and tongue was so gentle, almost loving. And after I came and he raised his head, his lips wet with my release, he looked so pleased with himself. Like it mattered more than anything that whatever he did to me felt great. And then when I climbed on top of him and rode him until we both climaxed together, he shouted my name twice and then sighed, “Maya” into my ear once it was over. All this intimacy was so unexpected and something I didn’t know I’d been missing before until it was suddenly mine. I want to savor every minute of this close connection with Eros, whether it’s sex or talking or finding a place to sleep tonight.